I know. I know. He can't act. His speech, much like that of Bobcat Goldthwaite, becomes irritating and tiresome after awhile. I accept all of these arguments. I've never called him a brilliant actor. He's not. He's simply an actor whose films I find so incredibly stupid, so incredible simple and fundamental that I frequently find myself laughing hysterically even when I know I shouldn't.

Bio-Dome, however, has few redeeming qualities with the exception of a "Blue Velvet" spoof that is unexpected and funny. The film is typical Shore, which means he surrounds himself with others who basically respond to his juvenile lunacy with incredulous looks and feedback. Basically, this is Pauly Shore's approach to every film and, quite often, it works on a moderate level. In Bio-Dome, it seldom works at all.

In the film, Pauly plays Bud and Stephen Baldwin plays his best "bud" Doyle. The two end up in a Bio-Dome after being dumped by their girlfriends. The entire film, essentially, takes place within the confines of the bio-dome. Herein lies part of the problem...part of the joy of a Shore film is that he manages to find himself repeatedly in embarrassing and humiliating circumstances in a wide variety of locations. There's only so much to work with in the confines of a bio-dome and the scenario quickly becomes tired and lifeless.

Shore captured the Razzie award for Worst Male Lead (tied with Tom Arnold) for his performance here, and it truly is Shore's worst performance onscreen. Was he becoming tired of his own persona? Or was he too confined by the script and/or direction of the film? It's hard to tell, but the film simply doesn't work.

The film has quite the list of co-stars including Patty Hearst (somebody kidnap her please), Joey Lauren Adams (Apparently there were no Kevin Smith films available this year), Kylie Minogue (in a performance more painful than her rendition of "Locomotion"), and those Tenacious twins Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Director Jason Bloom has only minor directing credits, his most recent being an episode of Veronica Mars in 2004. Kip Koenig and Scott Marcano's script is strong evidence of their television background as it has such an episodic feel to it but it ultimate implodes over the course of a 90 minute film.

In short, all the innocence, charm and silliness that I typically adore in a Pauly Shore film is painfully absent here. What we are left with is a lifeless, predictable, poorly paced and horridly acted film disguising itself as a comedy. Bio-Dome is Pauly Shore at his worst. What else really needs to be said?

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic